SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo lacrosse team appears to be operating on all cylinders as they head into the toughest stretch of their season after the Lions dropped visiting Notre Dame de Namur 12-5 in non-conference action from University Field on Tuesday evening.

Saint Leo (6-1) senior Luke Baruch took the reins of the Lions’ attack as he kept the Argo defense guessing the entire night. The Golden, Colo. native zipped three shots past NDNU goalies and also tallied an assist in the victory.

Baruch’s night got started at the same time as the SLU scoring started as he hit the back of the net with a shot just four minutes into the first quarter. Baruch would be joined by Cole Seija and Nick Bova later in the frame as the visiting Argonauts were forced to pull their starting goalie just 10 minutes into the game.

Leading 5-1 at the end of the first quarter, the Lions took their foot off the gas a bit and allowed de Namur to slowly creep back into contention. A stagnant second period saw both teams score just a goal each while the third quarter saw the visitors from Belmont, Calif. score less than 30 seconds out of the halftime break.

Confident, and feeling like they were getting momentum on their side, Notre Dame de Namur was completely shut down for the rest of the quarter as the Lions put together one of their ‘patented’ runs, scoring four goals in eight minutes. The outburst by the Lions gave them a dominating 10-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Similar to the second quarter, SLU and NDNU matched each other goal-for-goal in the final stanza as Saint Leo came away with the win.

Goalie David Erdman and the SLU defense forced the visitors into committing 16 turnovers while Erdman made eight saves and only allowed five goals.

Joining Baruch with multiple goals on the evening were Seija and freshman George Proechel, who each tallied two goals as Prochel also helped out on three other goals.

Despite have stick difficulties early in the game, face-off specialist Mike Del Buono, with a back up Crosse, recovered to go 10-of-16 in the center spot as he also claimed a team-high five ground balls.

The Lions now turn their attention toward a stressful part of their 2010 schedule as they see three teams in the Top-10 in their next four games. SLU will host No. 6 Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon with things getting underway at noon.